PHILOSOPHY
(PHL)
College
of Liberal Studies
Department
Chair: Eric Kraemer
245E
Graff Main Hall, 608-785-8424
e-mail:
kraemer.eric@uwlax.edu
Professors: Kraemer, Maly, Miller, D.; Assistant
Professors: Glass, Scherwitz.
(All
colleges, excluding Teacher Certification programs) — 30 credits, including
PHL
100, 101 or 303, 205, 206, 496, and electives in philosophy. Majors must take
four philosophy courses at the 300/400 level including PHL 496. No more than
three credits of PHL 300/494/495 shall count towards the major.
(All
colleges, excluding Teacher Certification programs) — 18 credits, including PHL
100, 205, 206 and electives in philosophy.
I. Admission
A. Junior
standing
B. 12
credits in the major
C. 3.25
cumulative grade point average in the major
D. Recommendation
of two faculty members in the major
II. Program
A. Completion
of the regular major program
B. PHL
496
C. Thesis*
III. Evaluation
A. Cumulative
grade point average of 3.60 in the major at graduation*
B. Cumulative
grade point average of 3.50 in all university courses*
C. Presentation of the thesis to a colloquium of faculty and
students in the major
D. Final
examination*
+ above a course number indicates a General Education course.
+
PHL 100 Cr.
3
Introduction
to Philosophy
An
introduction to the major views on important philosophic topics such as
knowledge, religion, morality, art, reality, feminism, and social diversity.
+
PHL 101 Cr.
3
Introduction
to Logic
An
introduction to logic, the science of valid reasoning. This course introduces
the student to both formal and informal methods of reasoning and evaluating
arguments.
PHL 201 Cr.
3
Introduction
to Ethics
A
study of important ethical views in the history of western philosophy. A search
for justifiable standards of conduct through a critical examination of
different ethical points of view. There will be additional introductory
emphasis on selected issues in applied ethics from a multicultural point of
view. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered Sem. I.
PHL 205 Cr.
3
History
of Philosophy I
Introduction
to principle questions of philosophy and history of their analysis from the
pre-Socratic period to the Renaissance. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered Sem. I.
PHL 206 Cr.
3
History
of Philosophy II
Principle
questions of philosophy and history of their analysis from the Renaissance to
the present. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered Sem. II.
PHL 220 Cr.
3
Introduction
to Comparative Religion
Comparative
study of religious expressions and the human situation in the major religions
of the world. Exploration of the historic, social, and economic influences on
religious world-views. The role of each religion in shaping cultural values.
Prerequisite: PHL 100.
+
PHL 230 Cr.
3
This
survey course will examine philosophical ideas and systems that are generated
from a wide range of cultural traditions. It will first explore a variety of
multicultural philosophical traditions within the United States and then within
the global context. The aim of this search will be to broaden and deepen our
understanding and appreciation of the multiplicity of philosophical
perspectives which are part of an increasingly diverse, interconnected, and
globalized world. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered Sem. I.
PHL 300 Cr.
3
Topics
in Philosophy
Study
of a philosophical topic of special interest. Topics will vary according to the
interests of students and the instructor. For the current content, consult the
instructor or the department chair. Prerequisites: six credits in philosophy or
permission of the department chair. No more than six credits in PHL 300, 494
and 495 combined are applicable to a major or minor. Repeatable for credit —
maximum 6.
PHL/PSY
301 Cr.
3
Theory
of Knowledge
An
intensive examination of three major questions: (1) What are the principal
grounds of knowledge? (2) How certain can we properly be of what we think we
know? (3) Are there limits beyond which we cannot reasonably hope to extend knowledge?
Strong emphasis is placed on the problem of perception, learning, and knowledge
representation. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or PSY 100. (Cross-listed with PSY 301; may only earn credit in PHL or PSY,
not both.) Offered every other year.
PHL 302 Cr.
3
Symbolic
Logic
This
course offers the student a systematic presentation of symbolic logic. Proof
techniques as well as consistency and completeness of the propositional
calculus and predicate calculus are discussed. The student is also introduced
to logical systems involving obligation and necessity as well as to systems of
three-valued logic. Prerequisite: PHL 101 or MTH 151. Offered occasionally.
PHL 303 Cr.
3
Ethical
Theory
A
study of traditional and contemporary philosophical statements by which ethical
problems may be approached. An examination of the search for general standards
of value and of conduct as well as a critical examination of the answers put
forth by the main types of ethical theories. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered
every fourth semester.
PHL 307 Cr.
3
19th
and 20th Century Philosophy
A
study of the major philosophical movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Beginning with a response to the Enlightenment, this course will first explore
19th century philosophy, including post-Hegelian, 19th century British, and
American philosophy, pragmatism, and transcendentalism. Second, it will discuss
20th century analytic philosophy, including logical positivism, epistemology,
linguistic analysis, and philosophy of mind. Finally the course will study 20th
century continental philosophy, including existentialism, phenomenology,
feminist thought, and postmodernism/ poststructuralism. Prerequisite: PHL 100.
Offered occasionally.
PHL 310 Cr.
3
An
inquiry into the fundamental features of reality. Problems discussed include:
the nature of reality, change and permanence, universals and particulars, unity
and diversity, and identity. Prerequisite: PHL 100.
PHL 311 Cr.
3
Philosophy
of Language
A
survey of issues concerning the meaning of words. Their referential, snytactic
and pragmatic features are explored. Description and causal theories of
reference of names, description, indexicals, reflexives and kind terms and
their relation to various theories of truth, necessity, and possibility are considered.
The nature and roles of linguistic rules of use, competence and their relation
to word, speaker and hearer meaning are explored in view of speech act theory.
Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered every fourth semester.
PHL 320 Cr.
3
American
Philosophy
A
sketch of American thought in the colonial and revolutionary periods, followed
by a study of developing American philosophy in the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. Includes Jonathan Edwards, Jefferson, Paine, Emerson,
Royce, Santayana, Pierce, James, Dewey, Whitehead. Prerequisite: PHL 100.
PHL 321 Cr.
3
American
Indian Thought
Reflections
of the Native American ways of thinking as manifest in the literature of
various select tribes, on the essential characteristics of thinking commonly
shared by Native Americans, and on the fundamental differences of the Native
American ways of thinking and those of the dominant (white) culture. The
“primal world” of Native American thought will be studied as an alternative to
the western way of thinking. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered occasionally.
PHL 323 Cr.
3
A
study of the three major components of Continental philosophy: existentialism,
phenomenology, and postmodernism. Existentialism: rejecting the rationalistic
conception of objective knowledge, a philosophy of the lived experience of
concrete individuals. Phenomenology: thinking and learning to describe the
world as it appears rather than in terms of the preconceptions of a “totally
rational” and “absolutely certain” system. Postmodernism, including
poststructuralism and deconstruction: tending to the fragmentation of text and
of subject, recognizing the impossibility of any definitive conception of
reality, releasing hidden layers (traces) of texts unto polymorphic
indeterminacies. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered every fourth semester.
PHL 324 Cr.
3
Feminism
and Philosophy
The
study of the theoretical foundations of various feminist and anti-feminist
theories. We consider feminist and anti-feminist positions in relation to
issues of human relationships, justice, equality, human nature, freedom, and
theory construction. We will analyze various contemporary ethical, social, and
political issues in regard to these feminist perspectives. Prerequisite: PHL 100.
Offered Sem. I.
PHL 326 Cr.
3
Philosophical
Concepts in Literature
Examination
of Philosophical Concepts in Literature and how literature serves as a means
through which these concepts are expressed. Some principal concepts examined
include: the nature of self, society, and God. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered
occasionally.
PHL 331 Cr.
3
An
examination of religion and religious experience. Questions discussed include:
What is religion? What are the grounds for belief in God? What are the
foundations for belief in the soul? What is the nature of faith? What is the
relation of religion to science? Prerequisite: PHL 100.
PHL 332 Cr.
3
Philosophy
of the Arts
An
examination of aesthetic experience and the questions that are relevant to
works of art. Questions discussed include: What is art? What is artistic
creation? What is artistic expression? What is artistic form? What is artistic
criticism? Prerequisite: PHL 100.
PHL/PSY
333 Cr.
3
Philosophy
of Mind
A
study of the problems regarding the nature of mental events, mind-body
relations, behaviorism, mentalism, and the relation of these topics to
scientific methodology. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or PSY 100. (Cross-listed with
PSY 333; may only earn credit in PHL or PSY, not both.) Offered every other
year.
PHL 334 Cr.
3
Philosophy
of Science
A
study of the nature of scientific laws, theories, concepts, and explanations,
and a study of related problems in the natural and social sciences.
Prerequisite: PHL 100. PHL 101 is also recommended. Offered Sem. I.
Legal,
Political and Social Philosophy
An
examination of philosophical issues concerning legal, political, and social
structures. A discussion of philosophical accounts of the nature and
justification of law and the state, of the relation of morality and the law, of
the relation of morality and the state, and of the nature of legal-political
obligation and responsibility. Philosophical accounts of justice, liberty,
rights, and obligation and the relation of these topics to contemporary legal,
political and social problems will be covered. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered
occasionally.
PHL 339 Cr.
3
Medical
Ethics
Examination
of the principal moral problems that arise in medical practice, including
abortion, euthanasia, and human experimentation. Prerequisite: PHL 100. May
only earn credit in PHL 339 or SOC 340. Offered J-term.
PHL 340 Cr.
3
Business
and Professional Ethics
Ethical
issues in the conduct of business and professions will be examined by focusing
on case studies in business and professions that raise ethical issues. A
variety of ethical theories will be used to illuminate the ethical features of
business and professional decisions and their effects on employees and society.
The goal is to improve ability to identify factors and considerations that can
play a role in improving the ethical character of business and professions.
Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered occasionally.
PHL 341 Cr.
3
Environmental
Ethics
Reflections
on how humans relate to the natural environment, humans’ appropriate place in
nature: The earth does not belong to humans, but humans belong to the earth.
The course will concentrate on the historical roots of today’s ecological
crisis and on the contemporary environmental issues — i.e., land use, natural
resources, technology and the environment, nuclear power — attempting to
understand their philosophical basis. Prerequisites: PHL 100.
PHL 349 Cr.
3
Asian
Philosophy
Introduction
to the main questions in the Asian philosophical traditions. Questions will be
centered in ethics, religion, epistemology, and metaphysics. Conceptual
connections will be make with European and North American philosophical
traditions. Prerequisite: PHL 100. Offered every fourth semester.
PHL 350 Cr.
3
Philosophy
of Creativity
An
examination of a number of philosophical issues that arise in connection with
creativity. Issues include: Can creativity be defined? What is the meaning of
creativity as a fundamental philosophical category? What is the relation of
creativity to self, society and God? Emphasis upon both Oriental and Western
perspectives of philosophy of creativity. Prerequisite: PHL 100.
PHL/CST
400 Cr.
3
Ethical
and Legal Issues in Communication Studies
Examines
ethical and legal aspects of personal and professional communication behavior
in interpersonal, organizational, and public contexts. Considers such
controversial topics as lying, confidentiality, and freedom of speech.
Familiarizes students with ethical principles, laws, and regulations that apply
to both personal and professional communication, whether it is conducted face
to face or through telecommunication media. Assists students in applying their
knowledge of ethical principles, laws, and regulations in making specific
decisions about communication behavior. Prerequisites: CST 190 and PHL 100 and
senior standing. (Cross-listed with CST; may only earn credit in PHL or CST.)
Offered Sem. II, alternate years.
PHL 494 Cr.
3
Advanced
Topics in Philosophy
Study
of a philosophical topic of special interest. Topics will vary according to the
interests of students and the instructor. For the current content, consult the
instructor or the department chair. Prerequisites: nine credits in philosophy
and consent of department chair. This course is open to juniors and seniors. No
more than six credits in PHL 300, 494, 495, and 496 are applicable to a
philosophy major or minor. Repeatable for credit — maximum 6.
PHL 495 Cr.
1-3
Individual
Study in Philosophy
Directed
reading and research under the supervision of an instructor. Prerequisites: 12
hours in philosophy and consent of the philosophy department staff. No more
than six credits in PHL 300, 494, and 495 combined are applicable to a
philosophy major or minor. Repeatable for credit — maximum 6. Offered Sem. I.
PHL 496 Cr.
3
Integrative
Seminar
Integration
of programmatic themes and methods in the major. Prerequisites: 18 credits
including PHL 100, 101, 205 and 206. May be taken for Honors credit. No more
than six credits in PHL 300, 494, 495, and 496 are applicable to a major or
minor.